The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said farewell to New Zealand and hello to Australia on Wednesday. The royal couple and their son, Prince George of Cambridge, have been touring New Zealand since April 7 but are now starting the second leg of their tour in Australia.

Mark Tantrum/AFP/Getty Images.

Prince George’s hand is held by New Zealand Governor General Jerry Mateparae. Ross Setford, AP Photo/SNPA.

“The Duke and wife Catherine met recruits and paid their respects to those officers killed on duty,” reported Hello! Magazine. “Onlookers watched as the royal couple visited the wall of remembrance and parade ground that morning after police had previously been seen lining up waiting for their arrival.”

But the highlight was a chance to cuddle some exceptionally cute police puppies. According to the Express, Kate was particularly taken with the tiny German Shepherd puppy that was placed in her arms. (No word about how the couple’s spaniel, Lupo, might feel about Kate showering her affections on another canine)

“The royal couple were grinning from ear to ear when introduced to a couple of 12-day old puppies from the dog training centre at the college in Porirua,” said the Express. “Kate, 32, seemed especially spellbound as she picked up her puppy and stroked it. She said, ‘It wants to hide under my jacket. I think it can smell George.'”

Mark Mitchell, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Mark Mitchell, Pool/AP Photo.

Mark Mitchell, Pool/AP Photo.

Rain drenched the crowd as William and Kate paid their respects to fallen officers with a wreath ceremony.

“The college’s Kapa Haka (Maori cultural) group also gave an impromptu performance of Singing in the Rain — a tribute to the appalling weather — which had the royal couple in stitches,” reported the Daily Mail.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

Kevin Stent, Pool/AP Photo.

The Cambridges will begin their 10-day tour of Australia with a reception at the Sydney Opera House.

And while Australian crowds have often shown animosity to the royals in the past, a new report today suggests that republican sentiment has dwindled to numbers not seen for three decades.

“Support for an Australian republic has slumped to its lowest level in more than three decades just as royal enthusiasm reaches fever pitch over the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate,” reported the Sydney Morning Herald. “In a set-back for the long-struggling republican movement, once famously championed by Malcolm Turnbull, more than half of all Australians now believe the switch to a republic is unnecessary with 51 per cent opposing any such move and only 42 per cent backing it. That’s down from a high of 58 per cent in 1999 and represents the lowest pro-republican sentiment in 35 years.”